Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We woke up this morning to 10 inches of fresh snow! It was beautiful outside and so we took the kids for a walk. After about 45 minutes, we noticed a deer carcass about 20 yards off of the path that we were walking on. Based on the tracks and the complete destruction of the deer, we assume it was a mountain lion. We turned around quickly and headed back to the lodge, but not before stopping and taking a family portrait. Of course.


And once again, more pictures can be found on the my flickr page or on facebook!

And We're Back! No, not really

Well, we have internet access...so we are back in the able to receive and send emails as well as blog about all of the interesting and amazing things that we are doing! HAHA

We had a crazy Christmas at Matt's parents house. It was really fun, but I will give you the rundown:

8 kids under the age of 5

6-month old twins

4-week old newborn

6 kids on medication for their various ailments

4 kids on antibiotics

1 case of strep throat

2 hospitilizations (Matt's mom on Christmas eve and our newborn nephew Sam with RSV), both very scary...both healthy and fine now.

We didn't spend two nights in a row sleeping the same place for six straight nights.

One cancelled flight to Denver, one rescheduled flight to Denver. 24 hours of trying to rebook the flight in order to land one hour earlier in order to make it to club. 

Instead, we drove through blowing snow on the "Kenosha pass" which is one of the coldest, darkest and scariest roads in America. Especially when you are driving in a front wheel drive car with two kids and six hundred pounds of luggage in the back. 

But ahh, we made it to Young Life's Trail West. It is our first time here and I have to tell you, I love it. It is truly a GIANT lodge with so much to do and see. Plus, there is about a foot of snow on the ground, a great fire in the fireplace and all the hot chocolate that you can stomach. I can safely say, I would recommend this trip to anyone with kids. Who are over three. 

The ski slopes that are nearest by were freezing. I am not lying when I tell you it was 20 below with the windchill by the end of our time there. 

Lucy's glove would not stay on and she nearly lost her hand to frostbite by the time we got from the lodge to the car. Not really, but she acted like her hand was about to fall off for a good 45 minutes.

 

It is beautiful here and we are so happy to be in this lovely place for the next few nights. I will take as many pictures as I can! FYI: It is easier to upload to flickr, so click on my badge in order to see more complete pictography of our travels!

Close-Up of the Buckle Ring

Here's a close-up of the ring I mentioned in my earlier blog. I just happened to have gotten a manicure today, so please admire the hot red nails along with the ring.

The Goose is getting FATTER

I just saw this on my sister-in-law's blog, since we are heading to the same place, I thought that I would fill you in on what we are driving into.

"We are headed to my parents' house for Christmas this year (if you're a thief reading this, please don't rob my house - although we'll have literally everything packed to the hilt in our janked up mini-van). It's going to be so much fun and so much chaos. Just in my immediate family there are 18 people - eight of them 5 and under. Wow. Thankfully Jeannie and Kelly, David and Mary Lane live in town, so we'll all have places to spread out...a little. When we all come together, though, we just all want to be in the same place, which usually means the 4 bedroom, 2000 square foot house where we grew up that we call home. Mom has parties and activities planned pretty much the whole time...church twice, parties every night, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas day brunch. And then for the grand finale there will be Christmas dinner with 30 people in the same house we call home. Hilarious.

Even more hilarious are the emails that have been going around about what food all the women are bringing. I mean, we have to make sure we have enough, right? So here's the line-up. Please keep in mind as you're reading this that my mom thinks this list is STILL not enough:

Veggie Tray
Ham Things (ham biscuits that literally melt in your mouth)
Fried Turkey
Fruit Bowl
Tofu Turkey (my sister-in-law is the only healthy one in the bunch)
Cherry Cream Cheese Tarts
Lemon-glazed Pound Cake
Ten tons of chicken strips
Antipasto Platter
Huge Salad
Sour Cream Biscuits (I mean, wow...these are amazing)
Boiled shrimp
Sausage dip and chips
Vegetable Pizza
Pecan Tarts
Deviled Eggs
Sweet Potatoes
Macaroni
Maybe Bacon-Wrapped Tenderloin
Enough alcohol to inebriate a small country
And, of course, a partridge in a pear tree
Think that's enough? Not so sure.


Since we will be at Mom and Dad's, I may not be able to blog for a while. They are still in dial-up land, though I am hoping and praying that's their Christmas present to each other. If so, I'll be up and running. If not, have a merry, hug your kids, kiss your family, and thank the Lord for your life - and for His."h

What's Grosser Than Gross?

Last night Matt and I hired a high school friend to babysit for our kids. We had to go to a work-related event and so we left the kids in her care. Normally, she is a GREAT babysitter and to be fair, this story is nearly entirely my fault.

She texted me close to 7pm asking if she needed to give Lucy a bottle before going to bed. She hasn't babysat for us since Lucy has kicked the nighttime bottle, but I didn't have my cellphone on me. I left it in the car.

I didn't figure it would be a big deal, just fix her a sippy cup and she can drink some milk before going to bed. 

Well, we got home last night and the babysitter had found an old bottle in the depths of my fridge and had given it to Lucy. Now, by old bottle I mean; it could be two months old. The curds were still on the bottle when we got home. 

Doesn't that just make the bile rise up in the back of your throat?

Lucy has shown no ill effects and the babysitter said, "She just took that bottle down!" Thankfully, it was only a four-ounce bottle. 

A Taste of Christmas

This video will give you a taste of all the personalities that we are looking forward to during Christmas.


Those Sloan's man, they make 'em with some personality don't they?

Haircuts

What is it with my kids? I can not get them to look normal.
On Saturday, I decided that Lucy's hair was looking like a mess and so I would trim her up a bit. Everything was going well until Asher decided to jump OFF of the couch right in front of Lucy just as I was putting the final touches on her bangs. The scissors were at a normal place until she flinched and bent her head down right as my scissors were closing on the middle of her bands.

The result?


My daughter looks like Buster Brown.

Momma needs a nap

I found myself today being very cranky. And in front of my dear friend Natalie. With my kids, her child and the Troyer kids. We have a great little trade-off group where two moms watch all of the kids and the third mom gets the morning off to do whatever she wants. I really do look forward to it all week long.

But this morning, I was going off of just a few hours sleep because I had my Bible study with high school girls at 7. Only one girl came and she was 20 minutes late. I was a little frustrated with that. And I just was short on patience when I came back home. Then Lucy and Asher decided that they both needed to poop about every 30 minutes this morning.

Asher doesn't like to go #2 in the potty, so every trip to the bathroom was a fight. And Lucy was uncomfortable and frustrated all morning long. And we had two other one-year olds and a three year-old in the mix. I am not proud of the tone of my voice from this morning. Or how I treated my kids.

Ugh. Not my favorite day.
I hate how I acted.

Poop

Yep, that's what that is.
And it is how we are feeling about getting the house. Our realtor let us know this morning that someone else has already secured a contract on the house. They are taking back-ups so we are going to sign the contract in the morning. But it doesn't look good.
So disappointing! But hope is not lost until ownership changes hands, so feel free to pray for this. We just want to do what is right and not go down without a fight.

POOP.

Sometimes...

This can be true...

But I have never seen a church be so upfront about it!

(thanks to the Wes McMurray blog for supplying the image!)

New House?

Matt and I went to see a house last with our amazing realtor Julie May. She heard about this property that was listed with an agent but was in foreclosure proceedings...so she wanted us to see it since it was going to be very cheap (compared with the rest of the market).
We went to see it and to make a long story short, it seems like a great opportunity for us.
Nothing is set in stone, but we did go to the bank today and they approved us for the financing. Now, we have to get our house in order to sell, make an offer, and hope that it comes through. We won't find out until right before Christmas if we get it or not. since it is in foreclosure, the decision belongs to the judge presiding over the case. But here are some pictures. (Click on the pictures to look at them in full-size)



The exterior is NOT CUTE. But with a new paint color, some shutters and new landscaping, I think it will make a huge difference. It is on over half an acre with huge trees, you can't see them here.

Feel free to pray that we get it. It is WAY in the budget. Also pray that we can sell our house quickly!

I love you tube

I know many of you are thinking, "Leslie, step away from the YouTube." But seriously, ya'll...this makes me laugh.
\

For those of you who want to know...

What I did with my weekend. Click here Not a classy evening, but a swanky one.

Note to self: not everyone is made to drink Cosmos.

He's Got A Man Cold

If you watch this video, then you will know why I have not added any comment. 'Nuff said.

Hilarious Post on Consumerist.com

Maybe it is just that I grew up in NY, but I think that this is hilarious:
This Ham is Delicious for Chanukah

This photo, and a few others of similar signs on similar hams, was taken at Balducci's on 8th Ave. at 14th Street, on Sunday, 12/2 by NancyKay Shapiro. She's attributed the signs to the "Department of Monumental Cluelessness, Well-Meaning Division."

Whoops.

Play "Bam" to Clean Up Fast

I saw this post on Parenthacks.com this morning:

"Play BAM! to get the kids to clean up quick (and have fun doing it)
Bill's got the trick for getting kids to clean up their toys:

This hack is aimed mainly at small children, since their toys are designed to take a beating. Also, not for the noise-intolerant. :-)

To get my kids (3 and 5) to put their toys away (typically in some sort of toy box), we play a game I call "Bam!" which involves grabbing everything on the floor and hurling it into the toy box while yelling "BAM!" as loud as you can. They love it, especially if you join in the racket with them. Takes about 30 seconds to completely clean a 12 x 12 room.

You may want to explain to your children that this is for "at home" only, not during playdates, day care, kindergarten, etc, when others may not take this behavior the way it was intended. :-)"

Well we played it tonight and it worked like a charm! Asher was having the time of his life yelling "Bam!" and throwing his toys into our toy basket. I kept saying, "You have to BAM IT!" So then he was saying, "Bam-it!" as he threw his toys into the basket. I just discovered a nice little cover up for if the word, "dammit" sneaks out of his mouth, since that is happening with regularity now.

Anyone have a solution to solve my sweet little son's potty mouth that doesn't involve throwing him off the deck?

Psalm 16:8, 11

"I know that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me...
You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever."

I hope that this will bring you the comfort that it has brought to me today.

Just a Quick Glimpse at My Day

The kids had picture day at their school and so we got them all dolled up and took them to their little nursery school. We ended up at the end of the line and it took forever. So when it came to my turn, Lucy started crying and Asher started pulling ALL of the berries of the prop sled. It was only slightly amazing that they made it out of their alive. I actually threatened a spanking to Asher in front of the school's director. That's classy.

Since we were all dressed up and in terrible moods, what does that call for? Going and sitting on the lap of the scariest man in the world of course! I got EXACTLY the picture I was looking for. Lucy is screaming crying and Asher looks like he has the fear of God and Mommy on his face. In reality, I had just given him his first ever Cinnamon Tic Tac and he was trying to figure out a way to slap that taste out of his mouth.

Doesn't it make you want to visit us during the holiday season?

The Real Thing

I just saw this on the back of my Diet Coke 12-pack:

"Refreshing. Uplifting. Hydrating?

It's true. Research shows that all beverages contribute to proper hydration. That means whether it's your first can of the day or your afternoon pick-me-up, Diet Coke helps you stay hydrated all day long. So stick with the Diet Coke taste that you love. Your body will thank you for it."

Your body will thank you for it. Really? Is that what it is doing? Seriously, cut it out Coke. As much as I LOVE Diet Coke, this is an ad ploy that goes WAY TO FAR. And just to let you know, I feel exactly the same after I drink three Diet Cokes as I do when I drink water. Except that I can clean my carpets, paint the house and do amazing zig-zag drawings all in under half an hour because three Diet Cokes=speed in my body and makes it so I can't settle down the entire day.

But, I mean-at least I am hydrated right?

So Do You Think...

that my daughter has News Anchor Hair?

My sentiments exactly

I just saw this on Mama Pop.com and it mirrors my thoughts on the holiday season perfectly:

Poo. The Gift That Keeps On Giving...

So, the Christmas buy, buy, BUYing frenzy has started with a vengeance. I always get a bit of a thrill when the first decorations go up and the spirit of Christmas future is still soft-focused and filled with hope. This is about the time of year that I make lofty plans to make home-made tree ornaments, hand crafted cards, and generally get all Martha Stewarty. Relaxed, magical in the kitchen, a proper mummy to my children. This year will be different...

Then reality hits, and it's two days before Christmas, and you're wondering who the hell came up with the idea of Stockings for the Grown ups. Before you know it, you're purchasing something with 2 seconds of laugh appeal from Spencers. Something involving Homer Simpson and a beer bong. Dad'll love that.

In Britain, the national charity Oxfam have cannily tapped into this tendency to buy the ones we love something especially, especially trivial and stupid at Christmas. They have launched their campaign to Speak Out Against the Horror of Rubbish gifts. The t.v. commercial features famous-types like Helena Bonham-Carter, Helen Mirren and singer Will Young (you might not recognize the name on that one, but he's the lush young one near the beginning... link to the ad after the jump...)

Instead of lumbering your loved ones with unwanted kitchen gadgets and singing fish, this year you can go to Oxfam Unwrapped and choose from an alternative gift range, and buy fertiliser, a toilet, condoms, essential medicines and school books for communities in developing countries.


Considering the serious message underpinning the commerical, the whole campaign is delivered with real humour, with a satirical take on the typical fundraising commerical (Sally Struthers, anybody?)

While my family will be getting something under the tree this year other than a toilet or two, the campaign has made me seriously look at what I *do* chose to spend my money on--there's definitely room in the budget for some fertiliser and a bog, as long as I resist the jiving santa, that is...

Most Unbelievable Video I Have Ever Seen

I know it is eight minutes long, trust me...it is worth every single second. WATCH ALL OF IT

To Santa or Not?

Matt and I are in a discussion about whether or not we tell our kids about Santa Claus. I say discussion and I mean it. Neither of us are passionate in either direction, but we both have misgivings about indulging in the Santa fantasy as well as not comfortable with dispelling it either.

My suggestion is that we just don't make a "thing" out of it. If people talk to our kids about Santa, they can give the dumb, "I have no idea what language you are speaking" look to those adults. Or they can choose to go for it. But we won't perpetuate the myth or tell stories about being good and getting presents. I mean, basically our problem is not so much with Santa as the idea of flat-out lying to our kids about something that we just don't care about.

Both of our parents told us about Santa, but I don't think that my parents carried it very far. It might have just been a "theme" of the season as opposed to a real person. But, Matt said he was really devastated when he learned the truth about Santa and just doesn't want to do that to his kids. My feeling is, just don't look at it through the eyes of a jaded adult. But let it be what it is, fun. Don't make it into a big deal, but you simply play and have fun with the season. I mean, we can't make Christmas morning be the morning of dreams coming true simply because 1) we don't want to and 2) we can't afford to. By simply not indulging in that, you would think that the truth of Santa making all of your dream come true would come out eventually.
Of course, you can't control what your kids do or don't believe.

Last year, my friend gave her kids a new swing set for Christmas. She had EVERYONE she could think of go in on it. Of course, they spent the night at their grandparents house and the swing set was installed at the kids house. So on Christmas morning, they had nothing to open. Their mom told them, "You have an amazing present at home. Everyone went in on it and you will enjoy it all year long!"
Her son, Sam was seen pouting a short while later. My friend asked him what was wrong. He said, "I know what my present is and I don't want it! Cause it's LOVE and LOVE is boring!!!"

What are you thoughts on what we should do about Santa? Pros and Cons of the Santa story? Help us out!

Also, if you get a chance, please check out David Sedaris' Six to Eight Black Men story about Santa Claus. It will make you fall apart with laughter! Click here to listen

Shopping Cart Research

I have recounted my story of Lucy in the runaway shopping cart to many people in the last two weeks. I even went to the scene of the accident and spoke to a manager of the grocery store. He listened very politely, but basically said, "Tough." I wanted to look on the internet and see if there were ANY grocery carts that have brakes installed on them. The only ones I found have to do with preventing theft of carts, not as a safety feature.

Upon further research, I found several articles which site the American Association of Pediatrics recommending that children never be placed in grocery carts. Which is impossible! But their reasoning is that, many grocery stores don't maintain the straps and so many carts are suspect in their safety mechanism. I can totally attest to that! I mean, I can't tell you how many times I have been to a store and the strap is broken, torn off or the buckle doesn't work. They also say that the center of gravity on the cart makes them able to tip over without much work. Since a child is actually buckled in on the tipping point, that makes them extraordinarily dangerous. I have to admit, I have never thought of these issues before.

But a majority of the articles admonish parents to never let their kids stand up in the carts and recommends not shopping with them. Well, whoop-dee-do. Who wouldn't rather shop without their kids? You think that I love taking my child to a location where it is open season on what a bad mother I am because I can't control my kids? Or, I get stopped every aisle by a grandma who wants to play peekaboo? I would LOVE to just run in and run out. But that is not the luxury that I have these days.

What does a grocery store offer for me? Nothing except for a freak accident to occur. But it isn't so freakish. Over 24,000 kids are injured in shopping carts a year. 24,000.

So they suggest using a stroller, a backpack, bring a extra set of hands, or use the carts with a car in front. Wanna know how many "car carts" we have at our grocery store? Zero. More than that, they only have those double seat carts where Asher is afforded 3 1/2" of plastic to sit on and to be strapped into the cart by two suspender-type belts which he slips out of faster than I can buckle him in.

I think the only thing that I can do from now on, is force someone to unload my groceries while I deal with my kids. I just hate making the guy do that cause it is 12 degrees outside and I am not allowed to tip him.

I can't believe that this is not a bigger issue and that no one wants to make grocery carts more safe.

Best Part of the Weekend So Far?

The garbage men came a day late and picked up our 17 tons of garbage that was produced by Lucy's birthday.

That's not saying much for this week, I understand that. We have had a lovely time, but that garbage needed to go. We literally couldn't even shove a single DIAPER into the Herbie Curbie.

Thank you garbage men for working on a Saturday to pick up my kids poopy diapers.

Lucy's Birthday

Yesterday was Lucy's official birthday. We gave her a proper family breakfast birthday party and then spent the rest of the day not paying attention to it being her day. But tonight, we had a joint birthday party with Knox Troyer. His mom and I spent EVERY SINGLE DAY pregnant at the same time, except that Lucy evacuated my body two days early.

So we decided upon a joint party at our house tonight and after this past weekend's activities, it about killed me. I am so seriously tired right now, I can't believe it.


But it was really fun, we ended up having nine kids, 13 adults, four pizzas and a weiner dog all crammed into my living room, along with EVERY SINGLE TOY WE OWN on the floor.

I fed Lucy before everyone arrived because she is cranky when she is hungry and not getting fed. It turned out, she is also cranky when she is NOT HUNGRY and people keep giving her food like cake because she melted down and cried nearly the entire time the cupcake was on her tray. So we quickly moved on to presents.


She received some really cute books, along with a new winter hat and another doll baby. It was really fun to have so many people in our house, but when everyone left; I just sat on the couch for an hour.


So I made it. One year with two children. We have made it! I have loved this year, but I think that I have been in survival mode for most of it. I am just starting to come out of it and enjoy my kids more rather than just surviving them and their moods!

Those are tough words to right, but true. It is really hard when you have two kids who are just developmentally different to be in opposite places at all times. For example this week, Asher is getting potty training while Lucy is learning to walk. Can you get more diametrically opposed?

I am sure that those lines on the side of my eyes were not there this time last year. I dedicate those to Lucy, Asher and Slappy. Matt has his own...and is losing his hair. He doesn't need my help with that.
Anyway, we have made it through one year. Many more to come? I sure hope so!

Weekend Recap

This was one of the most festive weekends we have had in a LONG TIME and in order to properly honor this weekend, I dedicate the longest post I have ever written to those of you who will actually read it all.

Matt officiated at a wedding for close friends of our, Jenn Wisecarver and Kyle Murphy. So Friday night, we had the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and then a lingerie shower for Jenn after that. It was great fun, mostly because I got to spend the night with my closest girlfriends helping to prepare another girlfriend for her marriage.

I got home at 1:30am and of course the kids woke up at 7am. Which was not a terrible problem, because I had a full-day planned. I was meeting some friends at the J Crew distribution warehouse. We don't actually have a J Crew here in Asheville. What we have is the ACTUAL warehouse where all orders are shipped from. So once a year, J Crew has a Sample Sale. They sell all of their leftover items, sample items and catalog photshoot leftovers. The rules are really strict. The doors open at 10am, they hand you a price sheet and a garbage bag as you enter the warehouse. If you put something in your bag, you are pretty much buying it because you are not allowed to sort items until you are in line to check out. You can't try on an items. If you do, you will get kicked out. They don't care if you have hundreds of dollars of items, they kicked out three ladies for going through their bags! Seriously. They just had a huge warehouse, full of boxes which were full of clothes. It created this insane frenzy of a shopping experience. I have never been through anything like it.

This is me and Becca tailgating at the sale.

Yes, this is the line at 9:55am.

We got to J Crew at 8:45am. There were over 100 people already there. By 10am, the line was around the building. We got inside in the second group and I bought A LOT OF CLOTHES. For insanely cheap. I actually bought a Cashmere Car Coat for $15. In my size. In my PERFECT size. I also bought a lovely dress for the wedding for $15. Both of those items retail for over $300 combined. I spent $30. Amazing.

So after the J Crew Sale, I came home and got my house ready for Matt's parents to arrive. They were near town due to a funeral service that they were attending and they graciously offered to babysit for us so that we didn't have to hire a babysitter. So I left for the wedding and it was beautiful. Matt did a great job marrying the now Murphy's and we had a great time with our closest friends at the reception.


Me with Robin Plemmons

Me with Sarah Spooner

The last time we were all together at a wedding, we were all HUGE with babies in our bellies.

Ahh the reverand...

During the reception, Matt's parents called and told us that somehow Asher got locked in his room once he went to bed. We didn't realize that the door handle into Asher's room actually has a REAL LOCK on it. And we don't have the key. So after we got home, we tried to convince him to get out of bed and open the door. But instead, our two-year old totally freaked out because "oh-my-gosh, there are people yelling at me outside of my room and I will just cry and panic instead," makes total sense. So after an hour, Matt put his foot through the door a-la "Heeeere's Johnny" and unlocked the door. Then we played with Asher until 1am.

Then we woke up this morning to Lucy's birthday! Hooray, we made it through a year! I can't even believe it. Matt's parents brought her all kinds of presents. Her most favorite was a Corolle doll baby. When she saw the baby, she actually squealed with delight. It was adorable. She spent the morning pushing the baby around in its stroller.




After church, we headed up to our favorite holiday of the season: Plungiving. Pioneer Plunge is a rustic village outside of Windy Gap that kids camp, build and hike at in the summer. So every year at Thanksgiving time, we have all of our friends (in town and out of town) all hike/drive up to Plunge, fry turkeys and everyone brings thanksgiving sides. It is a FEAST! Three years ago, we announced our pregnancy with Asher at Plungiving. It was really fun to be up there this afternoon, just take a look at the pictures.




So it was a FULL weekend, we need this week to recover! But instead, we will be hosting a birthday party tomorrow night for Lucy and Knox Troyer since they were both born this week last year. Deep breath. Sleep will be needed soon.

A New Day?

I am so much to update you on and I will be working in the next day to talk about this past weekend, which was amazing. But, I have something else to tell you.

Asher has begun potty training.

Yes, that is right. I have no expectations that this will actually work and I am sure that this is going to become the most frustrating portion of my life. But, I could tell that we had a window. He has been talking about potty's in the past month and seemed interested in the last few weeks. SO...last week, both kids had colds and they sounded like (once again) they have both been smoking since they were born. I didn't feel like getting kicked out of the YMCA because my children infected everyone with their colds, so we stayed home for the entire day. That never happens. We all get cabin fever, so I try to keep them moving a lot of the morning typically, so staying home was a big deal committment. Since we were home, I just decided that we were going to give the ole potty a try.

So, I pumped Asher FULL of applejuice for a good hour. If he didn't have his sippy cup in hand, I was hounding him about it. "Where is your sippy cup??? Can you drink that for me please? Would you like more juice???" He drank and drank until he was about to explode, which is when I took his diaper off and put underwear on him. He wet through those and one more pair. I finally wised up and didn't let him out of my sight. I asked if we could read books while he sat on the potty. We read books for like five minutes, when he started peeing! Yes, that is right. My son peed three times in 30 minutes.

Then about every 7-8 minutes after that, we made regular trips back to the potty. By noon, he had peed three times in the potty and even pooped! I was feeling very accomplished.

I didn't want to make it a high pressure situation, so I put a diaper on him for his nap and we were done with the potty for the day and the rest of the weekend.

Tonight, he took a bath with Lucy and played in the living room naked for about 40 minutes when I saw him doing to pee pee dance. He has never even come close to doing this before. He knew that he should go sit rather than just let it go! That was big time! So we went and sat down and I read a book and he peed just a little. I mean BARELY. And he knew that he could get away with asking for an M&M. So I caved, but I kept trying to get him to sit back down. But he was losing it and I didn't want to make it a rough situation. So I let it go. But about four minutes later, I knew he needed to go back in there. Matt took him this time and he pooped and peed again!

Hooray!
I have no idea if we will keep this up. But since we are going to be home this week, I think that we can make more of an effort than if we were on the road somewhere. I am really excited, because believe me...the cost of diapers adds up. And Asheville guilt makes me feel terrible about all of the diapers going into the landfill, cause you know that crap ain't disintegrating. We might well be in diapers for the next year with Asher, but feel free to keep the loving thoughts coming our way, cause I would LOVE for those days to be over.